holy shit!!! thats a lot of news I didnt see coming. Selling to China?!?!? that shits cray!

I can see why theyd want another rematch with diaz/mcgregor for ufc 200. it was fun to watch and just when you thoguht conor might pull it off, Nate gets back and pulls through. It was really exciting to watch!

Im dying to see if Jon Jones is still the same warrior or if he's lost some confidence after that whole chapter with rear ending the pregnant lady and returning to the scene to grab his drugs. Thats a lot of crazy shit to go through when you're under the microscope, but I think hes young enough to get over it. hopefully ufc is just as exciting a card, or more, than ufc 100 was. cause that was an incredible card!!

Everyone wants a piece of mcgregor. Who can blame them? The payday would be huge and he's just not as tough as his hype would have the casual spectator believe. Diaz should be (and pobably is) looking for a title shot.

I think Jones will come back a monster. Try to crush the competition to make people forget his troubles with the law.

I really think he can do it too. he's so freakin talented and has a monster build! id love for him to get back to elite status! the franchise needs morefighters like that. personally im not a fan of flyweight or bantamweight. there MOSTLY isnt any fun knockouts, it usually goes to decision at least in most of those fights ive watched, save for Aldo's fights.

While going to decision dosnt neccessarily always translate to a boring fight, it seems to be the case more often than not in the two lightest classes. i think i mentioned them correctly, sometimes i mix up the names of the classes.

it just seems like a lot of injuries prevent a lot of the good cards lately, whether it be bad luck or whatever else. so im pretty happy more of these heavyweights are in and more elite fighters with legit skill like jon jones making a comeback. Nate diaz, i hated his personality and disliked him in the (season 6?) of ultimate fighter, but hes insanely fun to watch fight and he really isnt afraid of anyone or anything. gotta respect him for that!

If the ufc does sell to China, if theyd bring in more fighters, that might not be a bad thing. I guess we'll have to see how it pans out.

Yeah so, word is that Conor wasn't up for flying to Vegas to his whole promotion persona bit for a press conference. We're still only a week out from a young Portuguese fighter dying from injuries sustained at an event Conor was cage side for. The Irish media has really been going to town on the sport across all platforms. Now coupled with that which most people don't know is his striking coach Owen Roddy has some issues relating to head trauma and had to retire before he wanted to, and in fact before Conor got the call to the UFC was contemplating it himself.

I doubt he's fully retired but it must be on his mind. He's certainly made out like a bandit money wise from the UFC faster than any other fighter has before. I'm an mma fanatic even more than I was back in the day so I'm sure I'll be updating in here often.

I can see being worried about head injuries I suppose but if that's the case then why not say so and educate people. Rivoc and I were talking about his announcement last night:

[12:53:36 AM] Riv oc: He did say he didnt want to fight in the US anymore. I'm guessing Dana arguing with him over that was what led up to this[12:53:59 AM] Pawly: i dunno, i think its his retaliation to dana kicking him from 200 for not doing promos[12:54:38 AM | Edited 12:54:46 AM] Pawly: i think he "retired" before dana could announce him not being on 200[12:55:25 AM] Riv oc: I can see that. im not sure whether he didnt do promos for not wanting to come back to America so much, or if hes just that stubborn where he didnt want to do anything.[12:56:07 AM] Pawly: i think he knows he's not as amazing as he hypes himself and wants a clean way out with his dough[12:56:22 AM | Edited 12:56:48 AM] Pawly: go out on top as it were[12:57:27 AM] Riv oc: it is a shame. i would have loved to see him fight more in the UFC. so i heard its him and Rousey on the cover for the new game awhile back. NOW both of them gone, pretty much...[12:57:45 AM] Pawly: hahah the curse[12:58:03 AM] Pawly: Aldo must be PISSED![12:58:04 AM] Riv oc: she'll be back "eventually" I heard october, i heard next year cause she wants time off, they just need more exciting fighters[12:58:08 AM] Riv oc: I KNOW[12:58:25 AM] Pawly: And Edgar[12:58:28 AM] Riv oc: Aldo and so many others wanted a piece of him![12:58:45 AM] Riv oc: Edgar is such a scrappy lil bastard[12:58:53 AM] Pawly: dunno, more hype or truth, we'll see[12:59:07 AM] Pawly: yeah Edgar is awesome[12:59:35 AM] Riv oc: for all we know this could be a stunt and he could announce 200 as his "last fight" just to rake in more millions, since the news is so fresh, im not ruling that out

Just as I suspected. I def believe he thinks the promo side is a waste. I think his "retirement" was just a way to boost ratings, honestly. He wants back in, it's "up to UFC now." Of course it is, of course it will be.

Conor McGregor via Facebook wrote:Conor McGregor5 hrs · I am just trying to do my job and fight here. I am paid to fight. I am not yet paid to promote.I have become lost in the game of promotion and forgot about the art of fighting. There comes a time when you need to stop handing out flyers and get back to the damn shop.50 world tours, 200 press conferences, 1 million interviews, 2 million photo shoots, and at the end of it all I'm left looking down the barrel of a lens, staring defeat in the face, thinking of nothing but my incorrect fight preparation. And the many distractions that led to this. Nothing else was going through my mind. It is time to go back and live the life that got me this life.Sitting in a car on the way to some dump in Conneticut or somewhere, to speak to Tim and Suzie on the nobody gives a fuck morning show did not get me this life. Talking to some lady that deep down doesn't give a fuck about what I'm doing, but just wants some sound bites so she can maybe get her little tight ass a nice raise, and I'm cool with that too, I've been giving you all raises. But I need to focus on me now.I'm coming for my revenge here. I flew an entire team to Portugal and to Iceland to make my adjustments in preparation and fix my errors I made with the weight and the cardio prep. With the right adjustments and the right focus, I will finish what I started in that last fight. I will not do this if I am back on the road handing out flyers again.I will always play the game and play it better than anybody, but just for this one, where I am coming off a loss, I asked for some leeway where I can just train and focus. I did not shut down all media requests. I simply wanted a slight adjustment.But it was denied. There had been 10 million dollars allocated for the promotion of this event is what they told me. So as a gesture of good will, I went and not only saved that 10 million dollars in promotion money, I then went and tripled it for them. And all with one tweet.Keep that 10 mill to promote the other bums that need it. My shows are good. I must isolate myself now.I am facing a taller, longer and heavier man. I need to prepare correctly this time. I can not dance for you this time.It is time for the other monkeys to dance. I've danced us all the way here. Nate's little mush head looks good up on that stage these days. Stuff him in front of the camera for it. He came in with no shit to do that last one. I'd already done press conferences, interviews and shot the ads before RDA pulled out.Maybe I'll hit Cabo this time and skull some shots pre-fight with no obligation.I'm doing what I need for me now. It is time to be selfish with my training again. It is the only way. I feel the $400million I have generated for the company in my last three events, all inside 8 months, is enough to get me this slight leeway. I am still ready to go for UFC 200. I will offer, like I already did, to fly to New York for the big press conference that was scheduled, and then I will go back into training. With no distractions.If this is not enough or they feel I have not deserved to sit this promotion run out this one time, well then I don't know what to say. For the record also - For USADA and for the UFC and my contract stipulations - I AM NOT RETIRED.

[rant] What a pile of shit. Guess what fucker, you work for a company and sometimes you gotta do stuff that you don't want to because it's your job. Just like the rest of us "bums". He made them lots of dough, like he was supposed to and in turn was handsomely rewarded. The UFC MADE HIM. Does he think they were gonna fold without the "Great Conor McGregor"? Does he think he'd be a household name rolling for Bellator or the like? He had exactly the same amount of time to prep for the fight as Diaz, more if you figure in he should already of been training for RDA. Diaz made him tap like the little bitch he is and now he needs excuses. I would not give a flying fuck if he never fought again. [/rant]

That said, this whole retiring/un-retiring reeks of him actually promoting the 200 fight. Getting people fired up by playing the heel for the haters and seeking sympathy from his die hard fans. We'll see what develops.

I'm with team Diaz always. I think Mcgregor was pushed too fast without any real challenges. I think Don Anjos would have beat him, but Diaz was the one allowed the honor of humbling him when Dos Anjos hurt himself training.

So still they're dragging it out. Maybe he really won't fight?!?! I still can't fall for that yet. Not yet. BUT I absolutely can see his title going to the winner of Edgar vs Aldo. I don't think Connor would fight at 145 again even after all this blows over.

Now Conor is tweeting hes back in the ppv, but NO RESPONSE from the UFC. I really think hes trying to use his legion of fans to get abck on it, as he should. hes the one generating millions for them and bringing new people in. he doesnt show up for one press conference and they block him out? Bitch, hes carrying your brand!!!!

Also, Im still not convinced this whole thing isn't a big marketing scheme. there's still that chance. If so, bravo, well done.

It was more than just the press conference. They shoot the commercials and do interviews and the like. Like Dana said, there were fighters that flew in from all over the world and the fight is 3 months away, a few days would not kill the guy. It could just be hype but I dunno.

In other news, Jon Jones is back and looked real good vs OSP. He's only gonna get better as he fights more.

I haven't followed UFC closely in awhile. I had no clue who OSP was coming into that fight. I barely knew anyone else on the card Celt for the co-main event, so I chose not to go out to watch and save some monies. Jones was my favorite up and comer years ago. I really hope he pulls his head out of his ass and stays in the right mindset to succeed. He's got the tools, I just hope he doesn't go all Johnny Manziel and screw up his future with bad decisions and old habits. I'd really like to see him reign as next champ for awhile.

I have a deep, abiding, burning hatred for the Diaz brothers. If I was still in my fighting prime I would get in fighting shape like no man has ever seen, do whatever I had to to get into the UFC, and destroy them both... like at the same time, just so I could pile their unconscious, broken bodies on top of each other in the octagon. I wish McGregor wasn't such a little bitch...

I no longer believe its a big promotion. It seems he now is just making a stand against the company, and with damn good reason! at least imo.

Its always good to see employees stick up for themselves. I know the whole thing is stubborn on a stupid level from BOTH parties. But I think the UFC is the loser as they have way more to lose than Conor does, with not giving everyone the fight they want to see when both parties want to fight. Its pretty much a powerplay by Conor, and an expensive "ZERO FUCKS GIVEN, YOU MUST PROMOTE WHENEVER WE SAY SO" stalemate posdition. I guess the future holds the outcome. Im curious if he'll stay in the ufc at this point.

He could make an absolute shit-ton of money in the WWE though and I wouldn't be surprised to see him go there sooner rather than later. Talking of the WWE, the UFC has done a great job of integrating wrestling-style promotion into their business model now. Nobody can deny that 'storylines' play a large part in fight buildups. It's no longer good enough to just be about who is the better fighter, it helps to have a personal feud to settle. UFC has taken a lot of wrestling fans and it's no surprise because UFC does wrestling better than wreslting does wrestling at the moment.

Brewtality wrote:He could make an absolute shit-ton of money in the WWE though and I wouldn't be surprised to see him go there sooner rather than later. Talking of the WWE, the UFC has done a great job of integrating wrestling-style promotion into their business model now. Nobody can deny that 'storylines' play a large part in fight buildups. It's no longer good enough to just be about who is the better fighter, it helps to have a personal feud to settle. UFC has taken a lot of wrestling fans and it's no surprise because UFC does wrestling better than wreslting does wrestling at the moment.

He doesn't want to take ONE trip to promote a fight, why would he want to be on the road 300+ days a year? I don't see it.

Brewtality wrote:He could make an absolute shit-ton of money in the WWE though and I wouldn't be surprised to see him go there sooner rather than later. Talking of the WWE, the UFC has done a great job of integrating wrestling-style promotion into their business model now. Nobody can deny that 'storylines' play a large part in fight buildups. It's no longer good enough to just be about who is the better fighter, it helps to have a personal feud to settle. UFC has taken a lot of wrestling fans and it's no surprise because UFC does wrestling better than wreslting does wrestling at the moment.

He doesn't want to take ONE trip to promote a fight, why would he want to be on the road 300+ days a year? I don't see it.

I've got to agree with Pawlie here. I don't think he'll leave the UFC, unless he's really that stubborn that he'd settle for less pay days if it meant less promotion. I can't believe how crazy that situation blew up.... I still can't believe it.